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Iron Hearts
GENRE: Iron Hearts is a linear, single-player space opera in the vein of Halo, Half-Life 2, Gears of War and others. Compare the amount of story we experience in the first 30 minutes of Iron Hearts to other alien/zombie/military shooters. STORY: Iron Hearts is a "real time" linear story. Critics cite the forced exposition of flashbacks, narration and journal entries as trite techniques that overlay story on top of gameplay. In Iron Hearts, the story and characters develop as the game unfolds, in real time, without the use of pace-breaking plot devices. CHARACTERS: Critics regularly deride games for use of cliche characters and stereotypical plotting. Iron Hearts, with its huge cast of compassionate characters and realistic (aka silicone free) women, strives to show that, as we know, action games can offer much more than indestructible super soldiers, spiky-haired metrosexuals and sexed-up femme fatales. LEVELS: Iron Hearts replaces backtracking, filler and level grinding with character development as the central goal of every level. Iron Hearts hopes to show that the player's feelings about the characters aren't static, but can grow and progress while the action remains fast and furious. DIALOGUE: Although Iron Hearts' dialogue is written in a modified screenplay format, Iron Hearts is not a screenplay (or a television show or novel). Therefore, typical lengthy speeches and expositional conversations are replaced with fast snippets to allow for player interactivity and non-stop action. Again, compare the type of dialogue in Iron Hearts to typical alien/zombie/military shooters. PART ONE: GAME CONCEPTS Iron Hearts Overview Goals Iron Hearts is designed to be the most story-driven shooter ever. Presented in an episodic format, Iron Hearts uses multiple playable characters with a large cast of NPCs to create a story on the scale of the best epic films and novels of the sci-fi and fantasy genres. While the gameplay is fast and furious, the entire goal of Iron Hearts is pure story immersion. With no extra-level cut scenes or pace-killing journal entries, Iron Hearts relies entirely on action-specific dialogue and character interaction to drive the story forward. In fact, by having character conflict drive every single scene and level, the action becomes far more intense for the player. The status quo of video games is ever-changing and Iron Hearts strives to shake up the beliefs on what constitutes story in games. Should story simply justify the gameplay? Or is gameplay a method of advancing the story? Iron Hearts hopes to shift the paradigm of what is possible in single-player narrative gaming. Audience Iron Hearts aims for a solid "teen" rating by combining heroic combat with minimal blood splatters and severed limbs. Iron Hearts aims to appeal to the widest group of story-loving gamers possible, attracting both the sci-fi buffs and the casual crowd looking for interesting stories. Additionally, Iron Hearts, with its large cast of compassionate, genuine (aka silicone free) female characters appeals to the new generation of gamer girls and adult gamers who aren't attracted to the typical soldier/zombie/alien genres. Marketing While discussing marketing in a design document may seem premature, one of the greatest issues for any new game is managing the hype machine. More now than ever, a game must create compelling trailers with a genuine story to capture the audience's attention. While great developers are continually putting out excellent material, single-player shooters are becoming increasingly generic, conforming to the mold of soldiers and aliens with only slightly different combat mechanics. Iron Hearts, from the endearing personalities to colorful locations, is a world apart from nearly every shooter available. Iron Hearts aims to stand apart from the current crowd of shooters by offering an entirely new experience. Additionally, Iron Hearts strives to be as inviting as possible—easy to play and easy to enjoy. While sandbox games are hugely popular, concise linear stories like Gears of War and Halo offer simple worlds that, from the audience's perspective, aren't frustrating to play or difficult to learn. Their overwhelming success is clear proof the accessibility-first model works. Iron Hearts is uniquely suited for trailers and story-centric marketing. With a half dozen playable characters and an epic cast of NPCs, Iron Hearts can excite the audience in ways only previously possible in film and TV. Additionally, Iron Hearts' episodic nature, with its deep backstories and galactic conflicts, allows for a huge amount of pre-release content (story snippets, character bios, web comics, etc.) without diluting or damaging the main game story. Key Design Features Third Person Shooter Because character is everything in story, it's important to see the characters as much as possible. The third person shooter with an over-the-shoulder camera, as opposed to the first person shooter, is proving to be the most dramatic interface for story. Gears of War's excellent camera mechanics should be the model for Iron Hearts. Game Engine Importance Iron Hearts can be developed on any modern FPS/TPS game engine. The focus, however, should not be placed on pure graphic prowess, but on the ease of cut-scene and character creation. Character movement and facial expression are the most critical elements. The game engine that best handles facial fidelity and ease of acting takes priority over an engine with raw graphic power. Cinematic Experience Iron Hearts, as the most story-driven shooter ever, relies heavily on intra-level cut scenes (not pre-rendered cut scenes). The cinematic qualities of these moments should be modeled on film and TV—from depth of field and creative camera movement to voice acting and soundtrack. That said, the cut scenes aren't visually extravagant and use the in-game engine and follow the characters in real time, thus not requiring separate characters, locations or cinematics. Style The graphic style of Iron Hearts would, ideally, allow for the most facial expression possible. Near-photorealism isn't as important as emotional dimensionality. Meaning, if the latest generation of cell-shaded or slightly-exaggerated characters lends to more emotional connection, then that should take priority over texturing and lighting effects. Key Gameplay Features Shooter Gameplay Iron Hearts should feel familiar in the hands of anyone who has played a popular shooter. While each character has different weapons and attributes, Iron Hearts' goal is not to reinvent the gameplay wheel, but stand on the shoulders of Halo, Gears of War and Half-Life 2. Gameplay Mechanics Iron Hearts doesn't desire to break new ground in regards to difficulty levels, combat mechanics or camera angles. Rather, the game should be accessible for the most number of players possible. Level difficulty, while standard, should, if possible, offer a "movie" mode for players who simply want to experience the story. Unbalanced Combat Iron Hearts, designed as a single-player experience first and foremost, bypasses weapon balancing entirely. In fact, the weapons are designed around levels and characters—that is to say, the weapons are designed specifically for each individual character's dramatic needs. This unbalanced weaponry not only allows the dramatic flexibility to place in the hands of the character whatever weapon is right for the job (and dramatically interesting in that moment) but also removes difficult weapon balancing required by multi-player-centric shooters. Fluid Health System Iron Hearts offers a mixture of the traditional 100% hit point method as well as the popular "wait and recharge" life regeneration. The consideration is, once again, for dramatic purposes and varies from character to character depending on the situation. Simple Level Construction Because Iron Hearts is story-centric, level objectives revolve around relationships to other characters. Thus, typical (and more difficult to develop) level designs are not central to Iron Hearts' success. Physics puzzles, extravagant boss battles, backtracking, complex group scenarios, vehicle consideration and more don't appear in Iron Hearts. However, Iron Hearts does feature heavy scripting of NPCs and non-interactive events. The use of flexible intra-level cut scenes allows for easy triggers and objectives to initiate these scripted events, making overall level development as much a function of the acting as the programming. PART TWO: CHARACTERS AND LOCATION Playable Characters Overview As previously mentioned, the Iron Hearts combat system is inherently (and intentionally) unbalanced, meaning that character to character and weapon to weapon, there is no balancing by design. This allows the players to engage in some of the most intense battles right up front, rather than forcing them to start out with the generic knife/pistol combo. Additionally, unbalanced characters and weapons allows for a huge variety of combat scenarios. From sneaking missions and hand-to-hand combat to crowd control objectives and heavy, open-area combat, the unbalanced character design and variety of weapons allows for huge flexibility in level building and character conflict. Sheldon Beginning life as a lowly TrashBot, Sheldon is thrust into greatness when a personality program awakens his inner lust for life. Sheldon is, from a health standpoint, the weakest playable character in the game. With shield upgrades at various points, Sheldon will be able to deal with increasingly difficult foes. But Sheldon's main gameplay focus is stealth and close-quarters small-caliber firearm combat. Sheldon's weapons include a laser pistol and frag grenades as well as a small assault rifle picked off a fallen soldier. Additionally, Sheldon features the ability to carry near-limitless amounts of ammo and grenades through the use of his trash bin as storage. Marko Marko, with his Ferrari red paint job and massive weapon collection, is a walking war machine. And like most big-muscled robots, Marko is incredibly vain, using his hard-earned bounty money on chrome accessories and performance enhancements. Marko is the most powerful playable character in the game, allowing players to get their hands dirty early with some of the biggest weapons available. Marko starts off with an automatic shotgun, micro rocket launcher and a heavy rocket launcher. The nature of these weapons allows the player to face huge onslaughts of enemies in the early stages, focusing more on enemy crowd control than sneaking and single-shot kills. Additionally, Marko also faces light and heavy mechs, both enemies that require heavy firepower to take down. Again, Marko allows the player to engage in an entirely different enemy dynamic early—and throughout—the game. Long range combat, open area battles and extended firefights between heavily armored combatants are Marko's cup of tea. Einstein Literally a re-creation of the great genius by the game's resident scientist John, Einstein's sole purpose is to ask hard, logical questions and make his creator smarter (not unlike a walking, mustached version of Brain Age). Born from the same personality program found in Sheldon, Einstein's deep desires have been awakened and he dreams of a life beyond that of a simple intelligence droid. Einstein, because he's only moderately strong, relies heavily on a custom smart weapon called a "Particle Accelerator." The Particle Accelerator is a "physics weapon" similar to Half Life 2's gravity gun, relying on manipulating the environment than big explosions and volleys of bullets. The Particle Accelerator has multiple modes, from an energy grappling hook to rolling explosive charges. The weapon requires no ammo—it recharges quickly—and, depending on mode, depletes at different rates. Like the other characters, Einstein is designed to offer a unique type of gameplay. The Particle Accelerator allows the player various physics firefights, like shooting "around" walls, bouncing the beam off walls and turning objects into energized proximity mines. Additionally, the beam can stick to multiple enemies at once, decreasing its damage, but increasing the crowd control abilities. Future upgrades will allow for an expanded feature set including more physics-based mechanics. Wesley Wesley is the late Duke Veregas's personal bodyguard and confidant. Designed by the mysterious genius Ezra, Wesley is one of the only models of his kind in the galaxy. His intelligence is uncanny and, with a long history and wisdom honed through diplomacy, now finds himself the protector and father figure of his murdered master's revenge-minded son Brandon Veregas. Wesley's main weapon is his forearm-mounted plasma cannon, functioning like an assault rifle. The plasma cannon can also shoot time-delayed plasma grenades as well as a high-powered plasma burst, acting as a shotgun blast. Additionally, a plasma beam is a close combat sword, allowing one-hit-kills in stealth scenarios. Overall, Wesley is the most balanced playable character in the game and, through a variety of dramatic turns, will allow the player to use his different attributes in interesting story-driven scenarios. Wesley can also hand-hold a variety of weapons dropped by soldiers, which becomes a critical story element in chapter two and beyond. Future Characters While chapter one has introduced all the main characters, chapter two and beyond feature additional playable characters. Princess Cara and Constance will become playable once additional personal details and story elements are revealed. They'll both offer unique playable options, with Princess Cara using a creative physics-based combat system and Constance offering the most tactical experience in the game, including invisibility and stealth combat. Enemies Generic Soldier The generic soldier is the catch-all enemy for almost every scenario. The generic soldier is styled for different situations, from the police force in Picadora to the hardened military soldiers on Loriley. The soldier can also be equipped with numerous different weapons and tailored with varying degrees of firepower, accuracy, health and tactics to best suit the gameplay requirements. Light Mech The light mech, like the generic soldier, offers multiple levels of difficultly and gameplay situations with one character model. The light mech can carry a variety of medium and heavy weapons relevant to the different scene and character requirements. Heavy Mech The heavy mech is designed as a mini boss. Like the other generic enemies, the heavy mech can be tailored for individual gameplay scenarios. Future Enemies Chapter two and beyond feature a variety of unique enemies, including specific characters like Titus and Lord Philip as well as the psy soldiers of Picadora and exotic alien combatants. Locations Overview Iron Hearts offers a vast array of unique and colorful locations. Many games, while beautifully designed, rarely offer a variety of locations, instead recycling the same levels over and over. Iron Hearts, as a character-centric game, shifts locations depending on the scene. Each location also mirrors the emotional conflicts dictating the characters. From master-planned totalitarian cities to third-world arenas, each location is a unique experience. Picadora Picadora is a Frank Gehry or Philip Starck dream come true. Swaths of glass and exposed steel make Picadora feel like a city-sized Apple store. That said, the world isn't a generic futurist vision. It's very much an organic city in that shopping areas look like shopping areas and public art and social projects fill the open spaces. At the same time, Picadora has a distinctly uncomfortable feeling. As the story unfolds, we discover that the world is in the grips of a fascist government. From the first moment that we see the city, propaganda and "wanted" images dominate the public spaces while police and military patrol the streets. Holding Station Princess Cara and her friend bot Sally are the unwilling residents of a holding station converted from a European-style manor. While the building has classic arches, crenellation and crown molding, the overall architecture is a reflection of advanced designs. The atmosphere of the building, however, is far from inviting. The feeling is much like a WW2 Nazi-occupied estate, where soldiers patrol hallways next to family portraits hanging on the walls. Additionally, glaring work lights and robotic sentries destroy any fiction that this is a home. Princess Cara's room—in reality, a cell—is, however, very much like her home, with dolls and decorations and everything a teenage girl would have. We later discover the nature of her imprisonment and that this room, while under constant guard, is her personal sanctuary. The grounds around the manor are typical—statues, fountains and sculpted hedges. Beyond the grounds, a wall separates the manor from the outside world, which appears to be purely forest. The true nature of the planet and the manor will be revealed later in the story. Loriley Market Brandon and Wesley begin in an exotic interplanetary market featuring droids, alien creatures and all manner of unusual delicacies for sale. Loriley is like a futuristic Akihabara, only more seedy and violent. Loriley features colors and designs different from any other location. Being commerce-oriented, flashing billboards and provocative advertisements dominate the skyline while the streets are filled with unusual characters from every walk of life. The Loriley landing station and spacecraft hangar, while better kept than the rest of the city, isn't a typical pristine space dock. Rather, exposed piping and stacks of cargo reveal this to be a station that has grown over time to handle the ever-increasing traffic. Script: EXT. PICADORA ONE INNER CITY - DUSK Evening rush hour is almost over in PICADORA ONE, a distant future metropolis. COMMUTERS and ROBOTS hurry to their various destinations before the sun sets behind the glistening Frank Gehry-inspired buildings. Video billboards proclaim "Picadora One, voted the galaxy's best place to live!" and "A great future awaits you with Picadora One's Social Beautification Program." More worrisome, however, are the video displays requesting information on insurgent group LIBERTY NOW. MUG SHOTS of male and female insurgents flash on the screen. VOICE (O.S.) Thank you for recycling! On a walkway next to a row of mid-rise buildings, commuters deposit their food wrappers and trash into a TRASH CAN typical in any metro environment... However, we see the trash can is actually a robot. This is TRASHBOT. Roughly three feet tall, TrashBot is glossy white with rounded edges and a pleasant, child-friendly appearance. Simply, TrashBot is the iPod of the automated refuse and recycling industry. And like a turtle carrying its shell, TrashBot carries his trash receptacle on his back. EXT. PICADORA ONE INNER CITY - LATER Rush hour over, TrashBot is alone, using his tiny hands to pick up the various pieces of trash on and around him. TrashBot waddles to a piece of crumpled paper a few feet away and picks it up. Being a curious droid, he opens the little wad and sees a ripped out section of a person's picture and some text... Not terribly interested, he's about to pitch it into his receptacle when... He notices another piece of crumpled up paper a half dozen feet away. TrashBot, feeling more adventurous, jogs over to the piece of paper, snatches it up and opens it. Something clicks in his head and he fits the two pieces of paper together—they form a section of a portrait. Trashbot is excited to see another piece of the crumpled picture, now only a few feet away. And another. And another. We see that the crumpled pieces are a crude BREADCRUMB TRAIL leading into a nearby alley. Anyone familiar with "Hansel and Gretel" would recognize the inherent danger of breadcrumb trails, especially ones that lead into dark, sinister alleyways. But TrashBot, being a poor, ignorant droid, simply walks right into the alley, collecting the trash as he goes. With all the pieces collected, he holds them up, fits them together as best he can and, with great satisfaction, now sees the original picture... A WANTED poster for a WOMAN. Looking up, TrashBot now sees the very same WOMAN lunging for him. WOMAN Gotcha! TrashBot flails as a woman struggles to plug a thumbdrive like device into a port on TrashBot's head. The device connected, Trashbot ceases his struggle and stands at attention. TrashBot's POV HUD shows the new program overriding his native TrashBot software. MAN (O.S.) Hurry, they've almost caught up. The MAN'S voice comes over a PDA speakerphone the woman holds in her hand. POV HUD: The TrashBot's system files are wiped out as the new program takes over. WOMAN How do I know if it worked? TRASHBOT INSTALLATION COMPLETE, AWAITING INSTRUCTIONS. TrashBot looks into the woman's face. She's early-30's, modest but attractive, wears a business suit jacket and skirt, and carries a small duffle bag. MAN (O.S.) Now launch imprinting. TRASHBOT IMPRINTING LAUNCHED. MAN (O.S.) And give it a name. WOMAN John junior. MAN (O.S.) Not my name! WOMAN How about Sheldon. JOHN (O.S.) That's just terrible. WOMAN (to TrashBot) Your name is now Sheldon. SHELDON SHEL-DON. WOMAN And I'm Amy. Sheldon looks up at her with his big, glassy eyes, soaking in every detail of her face. SHELDON A-MEEEE. AMY Run defense and counter-attack program. POV HUD: The program loads up showing attack strategies, enemy recognition and weapon information. Objectives print out: PROTECT HUMAN COUNTERPART. JOHN (O.S.) Prep him and get the hell out of there. Amy zips open her bag and pulls out a LASER BLASTER. She puts the gun in Sheldon's hands. Sheldon checks the sight, barrel, clip and trigger as if he were a battle-hardened soldier. Amy watches Sheldon's sudden weapons prowess, entranced, before realizing time is of the essence. AMY (to Sheldon) Dump your garbage. A trap door on Sheldon's backside opens up, unleashing a pile of papers, wrappers and other waste. Amy then pulls out additional CLIPS and GRENADES from her duffle and dumps them into Sheldon's trash bin design doc for more. JOHN (O.S.) Don't forget the shield generator. She attaches a small SHIELD GENERATOR to Sheldon's bin right above his head. A BLUE BUBBLE forms around Sheldon and then fades until it's barely visible features the popular wait-and-recharge health system see design doc. Suddenly, something catches Sheldon's eye—PICADORA SOLDIERS round a corner and point in Amy's direction. SHELDON Trouble, Amy! AMY (to Sheldon) Hold them off! Amy rushes to the nearby door and struggles with the handle. is the first playable character. Bold indicates controllable areas with over-the-shoulder perspective. While still scripted, the nature of the action is up to the player and viewed from the character's POV. See the design document for more bold playable areas function in extended game time. Meaning, a page of bold script can, in game time with combat and player interaction, be as long as 10 minutes. See the design doc for more on timing AMY The door is locked! JOHN (O.S.) Hold on... Sheldon fires at the soldiers, killing some and sending others running for cover. The door's electronic lock flashes green and opens. Sheldon fires as more soldiers round the corner. Amy and Sheldon enter the building. INT. PICADORA BUILDING - CONTINUOUS SIRENS go off outside. Sheldon scans the large, vacant office entry and sees SOLDIERS approaching the outside of the building through the glass. JOHN (O.S.) Up the stairs. A barrage of bullets shatters the glass. Sheldon fires back. Amy dives behind a column, narrowly missing a wave of bullets. Soldiers climb in through the windows. Sheldon, with a few deft shots, knocks out the soldiers. A well-timed grenade sends the enemy hurtling out the window. Amy runs for the stairs, Sheldon close behind. INT. BUILDING STAIRWELL - CONTINUOUS They enter the stairwell. JOHN (O.S.) Two flights up. Amy runs up the stairs. Sheldon starts climbing the stairs. Amy trips. AMY Damn heels... She kicks off her pumps then looks back to see that Sheldon is having a hard time climbing the stairs. She picks him up and, with a grunt, carries him up the first flight. Amy holds Sheldon, the player is only able to aim and fire, not move. AMY You're heavier than you look... Soldiers smash open the doorway below and enter the stairwell. SHELDON Amy! Amy holds Sheldon in the soldiers' direction while he fires. Sheldon blasts each soldier in turn and, when a head shot connects, Amy gives Sheldon encouragement. AMY Nice one! The soldiers dispatched, Amy turns to the stairs. More soldiers can be heard outside, yelling orders and commands. AMY One more flight... Amy huffs Sheldon up to the next landing but doesn't make it before... Another group of soldiers enters the stairwell. Sheldon fires at the soldiers, but not before they make it part way up the stairs. Amy has to hold Sheldon partially over the stair rail so he can get a better view of the soldiers down below. When a soldier fires at Sheldon, his shield protects him and Amy, though Amy flinches whenever a stray blast deflects off the wall next to her. Soldiers dispatched, Amy carries Sheldon the rest of the way. She drops him on the ground with a grunt. The light on the door flashes green and they enter. INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS They enter a hallway and see door after door. JOHN (O.S.) Go to the end. Amy and Sheldon run down the hall. Soldiers enter from behind. Sheldon fires, forcing them back. AMY Which way now? JOHN (O.S.) Make a left. Amy leads the way while Sheldon holds off the onslaught of soldiers. JOHN (O.S.) Now right. Amy makes a right turn and runs right into... Soldiers, two of them, exiting an elevator. AMY Sheldon! Sheldon fires at the soldiers as Amy dives to the side, just out of reach of the enemy. Soldiers defeated, Amy and Sheldon continue forward. JOHN (O.S.) It's the last door at the end. They reach the door. Amy tries the handle. AMY Locked. JOHN (O.S.) One second. Soldiers enter from behind. Sheldon holds them off. Finally, the door opens and they enter. INT. CONTROL ROOM - CONTINUOUS The control room looks like it hasn't been used in years—chairs are stacked on desks and drop cloths are draped over computer terminals. Amy locks the door then stares at the bank of terminals, perplexed. AMY Which terminal is it? JOHN (O.S.) The far wall. Soldiers reach the locked doors—they pound with their fists and yell orders. Amy runs over to the far wall and pulls the cloth off of the terminal. She inserts various data discs into the machine and starts typing. The soldiers fire at the doors trying to blast their way through. As the soldiers break a hole in the door, Sheldon fires through the hole at the soldiers he can see poking through. The soldiers fall back. Suddenly, soldiers pound on the second door across the room. AMY The other door! Sheldon sees that the soldiers have broken part of the door down. Sheldon peeks through the hole and blasts them. More soldiers back at the original door fire through the hole in the door. Amy ducks as bullets crash into the walls around her. JOHN (O.S.) Are you okay? AMY Fine. JOHN (O.S.) I told you—AMY I know. Sheldon runs back and forth between the doors, firing at the soldiers as they appear through the holes they've created. AMY Almost got it... Suddenly, the first door is blown completely off its hinges. Sheldon, using computer terminals as cover, dispatches the handful of soldiers that force their way in. JOHN Tell the trashbot—AMY Sheldon. JOHN Tell Sheldon to access the trash terminal system. Sheldon goes to Amy and sees a picture on the terminal screen—a beautiful young woman. The title reads: CARA. The page reads: TREBRION PRISON COMPLEX. SHELDON Who is that? Sheldon looks up at Amy and sees tears in her eyes. She clenches her jaw to try and stave off more serious emotions. JOHN (O.S.) Sheldon, access the system and redirect the room's trash chute to sector 14. Sheldon plugs into the system and the trash chute at the far end of the room opens up. Suddenly, soldiers smash the rest of the door and open fire. Amy dives for cover behind the terminal. Sheldon fires at the soldiers, killing them. More soldiers enter from the other door. Sheldon blasts the soldiers and, after skillful firing, dispatches the soldiers. Only faint footfalls can be heard from the stairwell. Amy and Sheldon go to the trash chute. While not huge, the chute is large enough for garbage bags, TrashBots and petite insurgents. Soldiers shout out commands from the stairwell—they're getting close. AMY Down you go... Amy picks up Sheldon and drops him into the chute. She then lowers herself in. Soldiers enter the room. Amy, with a final smile at the soldiers, disappears. INT. TRASH SHOOT - CONTINUOUS Sheldon and Amy slide down the chute, making turn after turn. SHELDON This is fun. AMY You're not wearing a skirt. They make turn after turn until, finally, they reach the bottom and... EXT. GARBAGE DUMP - CONTINUOUS They rocket out of the chute into a massive underground garbage complex, landing on the top of a 20 foot tall pile of refuse. Garbage pours out of other chutes, raining down on them. HUGE GARBAGE ROBOTS, noticing the strange figures, loom above with tentacles raised, preparing to put them into the big RECYCLING MACHINES at the far end of the complex. Sheldon holds up his gun. SHELDON Don't. The garbage robots, seeing Sheldon's confidence, cower away. JOHN (O.S.) (muffled) Are you okay? Amy digs through the garbage until she finds the PDA. AMY I look like a wreck. SHELDON You're still beautiful. AMY Are all TrashBots so sweet? SHELDON I'm not a TrahBot, I'm Sheldon. AMY Yes you are. Amy makes her way down the trash pile. Sheldon stumbles behind her. SHELDON Um, Amy? AMY Yes? SHELDON Who are you? AMY You really don't know? Sheldon shakes his head. Amy doesn't answer immediately. Instead, a forlorn, bittersweet expression falls over her face as she tries to find the words to sum up what is clearly a painful history. She opens her mouth to speak but SIRENS go off and red lights begin to flash. CUT TO: INT. PRISON COMPLEX - NIGHT MAN (O.S.) (Southern accent, loud whisper) Get over here, rust bucket! We now see that this "rust bucket" is anything but. At seven feet tall with a Ferrari red paint job, chromed joints and obvious performance upgrades, this is one bad-ass bot. ROBOT (O.S.) Who you calling rust bucket? This robot is like a tricked-out sports car with the robotic equivalents of Pirelli, Momo and AMG stamped on his biceps like badges of honor. Stenciled across his left pec is his name: MARKO. In his hands are two beautiful weapons of war loaded to the hilt with every destructive technology conceivable design doc. Marko is a walking war machine and the second playable character. Marko jogs across the small hallway to REESE who crouches in the shadows squinting at a PDA. REESE See that door? That's our meal ticket. Reese sports a southern accent, black fatigues and an assault rifle. He's clearly comfortable in this situation, though he'd be even more comfortable with a shot of whiskey in his belly. As for looks, think Han Solo meets Sawyer from Lost. The door is about 50 yards away, past staircases, pillars, machine gun turrets and guards with big guns. The building looks like a mixed-use structure—part residential, part military installation. The building may have been a royal castle or estate many years ago. Now, soldiers walk the hallways and guard large steel doors containing military secrets. REESE So the plan is to sneak along there, disable the alarm, create a diversion and—An EXPLOSION cuts Reese off. REESE Damn it all! Reese creeps to the window and looks out. Outside, advancing PICADORA GUNSHIPS fire at TURRETS along the outer wall of the complex. GUARDS fire at advancing PICADORA SOLDIERS rushing the outside gate. MARKO They're after the princess. Reese pulls out a THERMAL DETONATOR, feels its weight and hits the arming button. REESE No kidding, big guy, so we're just going to have to rush things a bit. With a grunt, Reese hurls the bomb over the edge of the railing. BOOM and a fireball erupts, sending debris everywhere and soldiers scrambling. REESE Think you can handle it? MARKO Who do you think I am? REESE A big pansy—Marko loads a round into his rocket launcher with a loud, satisfying click. REESE Let's see it. Marko enters the main area to find soldiers and SCANNER ROBOTS rapidly approaching. Marko carries both an automatic shotgun and a rocket launcher with light and heavy modes design doc. Marko takes aim at the soldiers and unloads a volley of steel and explosives into their chests. The soldiers are blown backwards. From the other end of the room, a solider fires a rocket launcher, blowing up the walkway in front of Marko. Reese points Marko down a flight of stairs which suddenly fills up with soldiers. Marko blows them away. FLYING GUN BOTS exit from hatches in the ceiling. Explosions from outside echo through the interior. Marko guns down the bots, which careen into walls and detonate with a satisfying explosion. Reese runs across the floor. Marko follows Reese into a side hallway. Reese and Marko duck into the hallway just in time as a mass of soldiers runs past them to the front door where heavy fighting ensues. The final stretch is guarded by a group of soldiers camped around the doorway. Marko engages. The soldiers fire back. The pillars provide cover against the soldiers' fire. The soldiers throw small explosives, causing the columns to crack. Marko blasts the last of the soldiers with his rockets. REESE Nice work. They run for the door. REESE Cover me. Reese begins hacking the door's lock. Behind them, soldiers open fire. Marko blows them away before they can get close. Reese unlocks the door and they enter. INT. PRINCESS CARA'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS Marko and Reese enter to find PRINCESS CARA and her FRIEND BOT SALLY standing against the farthest wall. Princess Cara is a cliche statuesque blond princess. But unlike your typical blissfully happy damsel in distress, Cara has more in common with the Rodeo Drive Range Rover princesses than Cordelia Lear. Simply, she's a stuck up drama queen. CARA Are you here to rescue me? REESE Well—CARA (to Sally) I told you a hero would come! REESE Uh huh. Marko secures the door while Reese checks the windows for invading forces. CARA What's your noble affiliation? REESE We're leaving shortly. CARA You do work for a noble family, right? REESE We don't have time—Cara suddenly realizes Reese isn't her knight in shining armor. CARA You're a kidnapper! Get away from me, I won't go anywhere with you! REESE I'm taking you out of here and if you don't shut it, Marko here is going to stick a gag in your mouth. CARA You're a criminal! Marko rips a pillow to pieces, preparing to gag her. REESE Listen cream puff, Picadora goons are after you and I know you don't want to fall into their hands. Reese is right, Cara suddenly becomes terrified at the mention of Picadora. REESE So what'll it be? CARA You're a jerk... She starts packing her things. REESE No packing! (to Marko) Blow that wall open. Marko fires at the wall, blowing a hole big enough for them to climb through. Reese pokes his head out and sees a 30-foot drop to the rocky pathway below. He undoes a coil of rope. REESE (to Marko) Cover us. Marko jumps out of the hole to the ground below. REESE Now you, Princess. CARA My droid first. REESE Your droid isn't coming. CARA My droid is coming or I don't come! I swear—Cara is genuinely panicked. She hugs her friend bot with the utmost affection and, for a second, all put-on arrogance and attitude disappears. Reese sees this sudden emotion and, shocked, gives in. REESE Fine! We now get a good look at the friend bot for the first time. Unlike Cara's frilly pink princess outfit, the friend bot is more tomboy than regal companion. And though the bot has a metal face, there's something almost human about the eyes... EXT. ROCKY PATHWAY - CONTINUOUS Outside, PICADORA LIGHT MECHS round the building corner and run at Marko. Roughly ten feet tall, the Picadora Light Mechs pack serious firepower but can't move as swiftly as Marko. With guns blazing, Marko dives head on into the mech assault. Statues of Greco/Roman deities provide temporary cover until they're blown to pieces by the Mech's cannons. Marko fires back and a few well-placed rockets knock the mech to its knees. Mechs defeated, Reese lowers Cara and her bot to the ground below. Reese follows. REESE We're not far from the ship, it's just—Reese is interrupted by gunfire from the window above. Marko returns fire at the soldiers above. Marko fires a rocket that blows the room to pieces, sending soldiers and furniture flying out into the night. Two mechs round the corner of the building. Reese pulls the girls into cover next to the building. Marko runs ahead. Shrubs and fountains and other luxury garden ornaments are blown to pieces by the mech's blasts. Marko's heavy rockets make quick work of the mechs. REESE We're almost there... Ahead, we can see a hole blasted in the perimeter fence. On the other side of the fence is a forest. They prepare to make a run for it when... A huge explosion rocks the ground. Once the smoke clears, they see... A HEAVY MECH. REESE Shit! Reese pulls the girls into an alcove in the building. The Heavy Mech advances. REESE Marko, time for the nitrus! Marko turns a knob on his back causing his engines to double their speed. allows Marko to move at an accelerated speed for a short period of time. REESE (to Cara) Watch this. Fully juiced, Marko engages the Heavy Mech. The mech uses a variety of large energy cannons and lighter machine gun fire. While the mech is powerful, it can't match Marko's speed. Marko flanks the mech, forcing him to turn, while he unloads round after round into the mech's heavy armor. A plasma cannon blast connects with Marko, blowing him back a half dozen feet. REESE Walk it off, big guy. Reese throws Marko an energy cell that boosts his health. After a number of shots, the mech begins to smoke. REESE He's almost finished! With a final shot, the Heavy Mech falls to the ground with a satisfying crunch, defeated. REESE (to Cara) See that? That's why we get the big bucks. CARA Big bucks? REESE You have the honor of being abducted by the highest paid bounty hunter in the galaxy, sweet cheeks. Reese leads the girls through the hole and into the forest. EXT. FOREST - CONTINUOUS They make their way through the trees and into a clearing where Reese's ship awaits. This is no typical spacecraft, but a Ferrari for the skies. Bright red paint and smooth lines, Reese's ship is clearly one serious speed demon. REESE Destiny awaits. Reese grabs the friend bot who stares at the ship in awe. Marko takes Cara inside and, as Reese pulls Sally in, she takes one final look back and sees her former prison consumed in flames. CUT TO: INT. WAREHOUSE - DAY JOHN, early 30's, is a jeans, T-shirt, and thick glasses man. He talks into his phone. JOHN (into phone) Okay, see you soon. Love you. He turns off the phone. JOHN Amy and the TrashBot just got out of the garbage sector. EINSTEIN She didn't dispose of the trashbot? EINSTEIN is, in fact, Einstein. Or, at least a robot with the genius's signature mustache and hairdo. The rest of Einstein's body is quite crude—mostly dull metal and exposed joints—but he appears firmly built and speaks with confidence and intelligence, living up to his namesake. JOHN The trashbot is coming. Einstein stares out the window at the street across from them. It appears as if they're on a stakeout. Or, with the large sniper rifle nearby, on an assassination mission. EINSTEIN You know I'm entirely opposed to using the Napoleon program in a trashbot. JOHN Isn't Sheldon a terrible name? I think it's terrible. EINSTEIN John—JOHN I know, but I want to see how it turns out. EINSTEIN It's playing with fire. JOHN Turns out Sheldon is pretty handy with a gun. EINSTEIN That's the fire I'm talking about! JOHN You turned out fine. EINSTEIN But I'm Einstein. JOHN Was that humor? EINSTEIN John—JOHN It was humor! EINSTEIN Impossible, I'm designed only to make you smarter and then shut the hell up. JOHN Sarcasm and profanity too! I think this is a real breakthrough—EINSTEIN Quiet! Einstein now sees something out the window. EINSTEIN There he is. JOHN The gun. EINSTEIN Let me. JOHN The gun, Albert. John is adamant, serious, determined to do this himself though his voice betrays his nervousness. It's clear this is John's first attempt at assassination. Einstein hands John the sniper rifle. John raises the weapon and we see... SCOPE POV: A number of SOLDIERS and other military STAFF emerge from a building, talking and shaking hands. One man in particular, LORD PHILIP, appears to be a prince or some royal personage from the clothing he wears and, though he's young, he carries himself with the confidence of a malevolent dictator-in-training. John tries to hold the rifle steady but he can't. He wipes sweat from his face and tries to brace himself. EINSTEIN Let me. JOHN I got it. John takes another look through the sight but realizes he just doesn't have steady-enough hands. JOHN Fine. Einstein takes the rifle, looks through the POV and... SCOPE POV: A sinister-looking ROBOT is pointing in their direction. Suddenly, a bright flash and... The wall EXPLODES as Einstein grabs John and dives out of the way just in time. JOHN Christ! What happened? YELLING is heard from outside as SOLDIERS rush towards them. EINSTEIN You're bleeding. John touches his head—it's just a scratch. JOHN I'm fine. You? EINSTEIN Of course. Einstein is the third playable character. He drops the sniper rifle and opens up a large suitcase. JOHN The particle cannon—EINSTEIN I know. Einstein removes a strange looking device from the suitcase—tubes and pipes and chambers of funky-colored liquid make up the body of the particle cannon. Einstein pulls the trigger and a tidal wave of energy slams into the soldiers, literally blowing them off their feet design doc for the particle cannon's multiple uses. John leads Einstein down a dilapidated hallway. Soldiers emerge from the hole in the wall and, at the same time, from the opposite end of the hall. Einstein fires at the soldiers, making short work of them. Suddenly, the big bay windows burst open as an ARMORED VEHICLE breeches the wall. EINSTEIN Back of the building! Einstein fires on the vehicle. Soldiers exit the vehicle and use it as cover. Einstein lays down suppressing fire as John runs for a flight of stairs. John points the way up a flight of stairs as more and more SOLDIERS pour through the hole in the wall. EINSTEIN If we go up we'll get trapped! JOHN There's a door! EINSTEIN But the roof—Einstein is cut off by more gunfire. John runs for the stairs. After dispatching the troops, Einstein follows John up the stairs. Soldiers arrive at the bottom of the staircase and fire upward. Einstein picks them off. John and Einstein arrive at the top of the stairs and John tries the door to the roof. JOHN It's locked. EINSTEIN Told you. JOHN Shoot it already! Einstein blasts the door handle. John pushes. JOHN There's something blocking on the other side. EINSTEIN Brilliant, John. John continues to push as the soldiers fill the stairwell. Einstein fires down the well, killing soldier after soldier. JOHN Got it. John opens the door and they run outside to find... EXT. ROOFTOP - CONTINUOUS Derelict oil drums and old crates scattered across the rooftop. EINSTEIN We're trapped. JOHN We're never trapped. CUT TO: EXT. ROOFTOP - MOMENTS LATER Soldiers burst through the doorway onto the rooftop and fan out. John and Einstein are nowhere to be found. After the soldiers comb the place and poke the drums and crates, Lord Philip and a DIPLOMAT, heavyset with a forced grin and clammy hands, emerge. The sinister robot that spotted John before follows close behind. DIPLOMAT Lord Philip, it's not safe. PHILIP That was fun! Wasn't that fun? Seeing there's nothing to shoot at, Philip sticks his gold plated laser pistol back into his jacket. DIPLOMAT I apologize—PHILIP My little sewer of a planet is much more dangerous. But where are the would-be assassins? DIPLOMAT Uh, we're still tracking them. Philip turns to his robot, TITUS. We now get a good look at Titus—it's a serious war machine, not unlike Marko, but with a black and grey paint job and deep-set, vicious eyes. PHILIP Titus, sniff around. Titus examines the oil drums and crates and, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, looks out over the city. The diplomat lights a cigarette. PHILIP (re: cigarette) Mind if I... DIPLOMAT Of course, please... The diplomat gives Philip a cigarette and lights it for him. Philip takes a deep drag and coughs. Titus stops by the edge of the roof and looks out over the city. He's suspicious... PHILIP And how goes our little project? DIPLOMAT Our forces are retrieving the girl right now. Titus now notices something on the edge of the roof—a carabiner with a rope descending over the edge. We now see John and Einstein, holding the rope, pressed against the wall, trying to remain as still as possible. PHILIP (O.S.) Think she's hideous? DIPLOMAT (O.S.) Well... The shadow of Titus falls over John and Einstein and, though Titus has yet to see them, John holds his breath. PHILIP (O.S.) I hope not, that'd be such a shame. TITUS Lord Philip. PHILIP (O.S.) Yes? A long beat as John and Einstein wait to see what happens. Suddenly, the rope goes limp. They fall for a few feet before Einstein grabs the ledge with one hand and John's shirt with the other. The particle cannon is slung over his shoulder. John is able to get his grip on the ledge, right in time for Einstein to remove the particle cannon and fire at the soldiers as they peer over the wall. JOHN I can make it to the next roof. The next roof is a good 15 foot drop. A roof garden looks like it would provide some cushioning but a fall would be... John is cut short as a bullet hits him in the arm. He screams out and falls into the roof garden. Einstein lets go of the ledge and leaps to the roof. JOHN I broke something. John holds his arm, now a mess, and struggles to his feet. Above, a new wave of soldiers reach the edge and raise their guns. Einstein fires, pushing them back with waves of energy. EINSTEIN Get to the door! John stumbles away from the garden towards a doorway leading into another building. Soldiers descend to the roof garden and take cover behind the roof's air conditioning and other machinery. Einstein fires at the soldiers. SIRENS go off in the background, sending wails throughout the city. Einstein blasts a soldier, sending him flying over the edge to the ground below. John makes it to the door, opens it and enters. JOHN I'm in. Einstein dodges the grenades and, with blasts of energy, dispatches the remainder of the soldiers. Einstein runs for the door and, at the final moment looks back to see... Titus. The two of them lock eyes for a moment—they have unfinished business. CUT TO: INT. SAFE HOUSE - LATER John and Einstein enter the safe house to find their COMPATRIOTS waiting for them. The safe house is a typical rebel compound—no decorations on the walls, just stacks of rations and weapons. COMPATRIOT 1 He's hurt! JOHN Just a scratch. EINSTEIN He needs his arm set. JOHN What's with the sirens? COMPATRIOT 2 Soldiers are going from door to door. JOHN Where's Amy? COMPATRIOT 2 Don't know. JOHN She was supposed to be here—COMPATRIOT 3 There's a problem. John and Einstein go to the window and look out and see a HEAVY MECH walking down the street. JOHN We'll just wait for it to pass. COMPATRIOT 3 No, that is the problem. John and Einstein now see the real issue... Sheldon. With a gun in each hand and grenades strapped across his chest like Rambo, Sheldon has made his stand across from the heavy mech like a wild west gunslinger. COMPATRIOT 3 What is it doing? John looks at Einstein who simply gives him the "I told you so" look. JOHN (to Einstein) Don't even say it! CUT TO: EXT. LORILEY MARKET - DAY The market is typical of open-air bazaars in this part of the galaxy—droids for sale next to exotic fruits and colorful pets. A Loriley SOLDIER approaches a HOODED MAN and holds up a "wanted" flier. SOLDIER Have you seen this man? The hooded man looks at the flier and sees a young, handsome man with the title "BRANDON VEREGAS, SON OF TRAITOR DUKE VEREGAS." MAN Afraid not. The soldier keeps moving. We now see the hooded man is no man at all, but a robot. However, unlike any other robot we've seen so far, this one appears to be crafted out of polished gold and blue steel. If Rolex or Tag Hueur made a weaponized droid, this would be it. Combined with a face both expressive and haunting, this robot is unlike any other in the galaxy. This is WESLEY. Wesley makes a quick exit to a nearby alley where he finds the very same man on the poster, BRANDON VEREGAS. WESLEY Soldiers are combing the streets—BRANDON Doesn't matter, look at that... Brandon peers through binoculars at an approaching ship. BRANDON Does that look like the royal landing craft to you? WESLEY Sir, I must protest—BRANDON That's it, I'm positive. Brandon, eyes filled with rage, pulls out a laser blaster, checks the clip, and stuffs it back into his jacket. WESLEY Sir, we must remain—BRANDON Follow my lead. Brandon pulls his hood down over his face and exits the alley. Wesley struggles to keep up. A soldier stands guard at an entrance to the spacecraft docking area. Ships can be seen entering and leaving from above. Brandon walks up to the soldiers. SOLDIER This area is restricted—The soldier is cut off by a laser blast to the chest. Brandon and Wesley enter the building. Behind them, soldiers round the corner and point in their direction. Wesley is the fourth playable character. Unlike the others, Wesley doesn't carry any weapons. Rather, a forearm mounted mechanism provides his means of incapacitating the enemy. Not only is Wesley able to fire a variety of energy blasts, he also wields an energy blade, deadly in close combat design doc. INT. DOCKING STATION - CONTINUOUS They enter the docking station to find a maze of halls and doors. BRANDON Which way? WESLEY You should have thought of that. Soldiers enter from behind. Wesley fires at the approaching soldiers as Brandon leads Wesley into another hallway filled with piping and machinery. A soldier, unaware of their presence, walks by their location. Brandon motions for Wesley to slit the soldier's neck. Wesley equips his energy blade and, with a leap and a precise swing, decapitates the soldier. Brandon now runs down the hallway past more soldiers. Wesley follows and, when the timing is right, kills the enemies with a quick flick of his blade. Brandon opens the door at the end of the hall. BRANDON There it is. The royal landing craft, a gaudy ship adorned with gold and silver, is just landing a dozen yards away. Soldiers fill the hallway behind them. Brandon shoots the door mechanism, causing the door to close. They exit. EXT. LANDING PAD - CONTINUOUS Outside, they see a phalanx of soldiers to the left side coming up the walkway towards the ship. Brandon dives out of the way as Wesley opens fire on the soldiers. BRANDON Hold them off, I'm going to make a run for it. The royal ship has landed and the landing platform is just beginning to lower. Wesley fires at the soldiers. Brandon makes a run for the ship. WESLEY Brandon—Brandon makes it to the ship and stops in front of the landing platform. VOICE (O.S.) Hold your fire! The soldiers stop their attack. Wesley walks over to Brandon, who is now facing the landing platform, though no one has yet to walk out. Soldiers surround them. BRANDON Lord Philip! It is I, Brandon Veregas, demanding, by the ancient laws binding the noble families, single armed combat! Brandon unsheathes a small sword and holds it up. BRANDON I will have retribution for the crimes you've committed against my family! Face me now or live in shame! Footsteps sound as someone walks down the ship's platform. Finally, a WOMAN emerges. WOMAN Sorry to disappoint. BRANDON Tell your brother to face me unless he's a coward. The woman is HELEN. Early 30's, tall, no-nonsense, Helen prides herself on being the powerful business woman who can duke it out in the boardroom with the best of them. Helen wears a conservative business suit and carries a man's briefcase. Next to her is CONSTANCE, her personal droid, who appears to be the same model as Wesley. Constance wears a pantsuit that only reveals her face of light green metal. A Loriley POLITICIAN exits with Helen out of the ship. HELEN My brother is a coward and, lucky for him, he doesn't arrive for another hour. BRANDON You're lying. HELEN I'd like to see a fight between the two of you but the most I can offer is to duel you myself. POLITICAN Ma'am, I must—HELEN Now where's my sword. I don't normally carry sharp objects—POLITICAN I really must protest—HELEN Someone must have a sword. BRANDON I have no vendetta against you. A SOLDIER walks forward and presents a sword. The politician takes the sword from the soldier. While this is happening, Helen whispers to Constance. HELEN (to Constance) That droid looks like an Ezra design. CONSTANCE That's Wesley, model number four. HELEN Higher than you? CONSTANCE It was his father's long-time protector and confidant. After the purges, I imagine that Ezra model is all he has left of his family. Helen motions for the sword. POLITICAN Ma'am, really—CONSTANCE Give it here. He buckles under her superior gaze and he gives it to her. HELEN (to Brandon) I'll talk to my brother, see if I can arrange a little death match between you two. I'll hold this until then. BRANDON Thank you. CONSTANCE Wesley. WESLEY Constance. The two droids bow to each other in noble deference. HELEN Now leave, you won't be harmed. POLITICAN We can't allow that. The soldiers start to walk towards Brandon and Wesley. HELEN I said let them go. POLITICAN Your brother's orders. HELEN I command—POLITICAN All Veregas sympathizers are to be rounded up. Brandon and Wesley share a look. BRANDON Do it. Wesley glows with energy for a moment and, as Brandon kneels, an energy shock wave shoots out from Wesley, knocking the soldiers back. Brandon runs into the hangar. INT. HANGAR - CONTINUOUS Wesley enters the hangar and, looking back, sees the soldiers get up having recovered from the shock wave. Brandon hides behind a landing craft, one of the many lining the walls of the large hangar. Soldiers fire on Wesley. Wesley, using landing crafts and other objects, takes cover and picks the soldiers off one by one. A single LIGHT MECH enters through the front hangar. BRANDON Can you handle it? WESLEY Of course. Wesley engages the mech and, using cover, is able to defeat the mech with energy grenades and gun blasts. A second mech enters the hangar. BRANDON I'm going for the door. Wesley fires on the mech while Brandon goes for the door in the back of the hangar. At the last moment, soldiers enter through the door, blocking the exit. Wesley defeats the mech while soldiers stream in from the door. Wesley fires at the new soldiers while Brandon attempts to leave through the other side door. Soldiers again emerge, blocking Brandon's exit. BRANDON We're trapped. Two HEAVY MECHS enter through the front of the hangar. POLITICAN It's over. An overwhelming force of soldiers surrounds them. Wesley, knowing he's overpowered, stops firing. BRANDON I'll never—A rifle butt to the back of the head knocks Brandon out cold. Soldiers surround Wesley and place electrodes on his body, crippling his functions. POLITICAN Take them away. EXT. LANDING PAD - CONTINUOUS Helen, having watched the events unfold, walks away with Constance. HELEN See if we can keep him out of my brother's arena. CONSTANCE Of course. HELEN And any word from the bounty hunter? CONSTANCE He's on route with the cargo. HELEN Maybe the galaxy won't go to hell after all. Helen and Constance exit the platform while Brandon and Wesley are dragged away. END OF CHAPTER 1 Category:VG Ideas Category:Single Player Category:Shooter